Panaceas’ Passage

Inspiration

Christy L. - The disastrous flooding of the Guadalupe and Comal rivers and the loss of life in Texas was shocking. My hope is that we can prevent a similar disaster in Houston, make a real difference, and provide a path to saving lives.

Jemima E. - My goal is to explore and prototype flood safety solutions that combine technology, public awareness, and infrastructure so that when the next storm comes, Houstonians are better prepared, better informed, and better protected

Maria R. - What inspired me is the feeling of driving in the rain, when your mind is focused on hurrying to your destination, especially when you don't know exactly where you're going. I wanted to create something that helps people reach their destinations safely, without the added fear or uncertainty of encountering a flood.

What it does

Panacea’s Passage is a flood-awareness map that gives Houston residents routes to safety when a flood strikes. Instead of just sending alerts, it turns flood data into clear directions that guide people in the neighborhoods most at risk.

Increased safety: helps people navigate around flooded areas.
Property protection: reduces risk of damage by avoiding vulnerable zones.
Real-time knowledge: delivers live updates to prevent disaster before it happens.

How we built it

We use web application technologies along with open data sources and design tools to bring this project together:

Code: Python for backend logic, Flask for APIs, React for the user interface, and Figma for design and prototyping.
Data: Houston TranStar feeds, OpenStreetMap, and the Overpass API provided the foundation for real-time mapping and routing.
Design process: We began with a wireframe in Figma and added a working demo to implement a feature of the map.

Challenges we ran into

Data availability: A lot of flood data is either scattered, outdated, or locked away, so piecing together open sources like Houston TranStar, OSM, and Overpass took effort.
Making things talk to each other: Getting the live data to flow smoothly into our map and backend was trickier than expected.
Race against the clock: With limited time, we had to cut features and focus on the core demo.
From Figma to code: Turning design mockups into real React components came with its own bumps along the way.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Wire frame build.
Teamwork and our solution to the challenge given by the City of Houston.
We built a functional demo that actually maps safe routes during a flood.
Combined skills of storytelling, design, and engineering to create something meaningful in just a weekend.

What we learned

Complexity of flooding problems and solutions
Learning to use React, Python
More experience working with a team

What's next for Panaceas’ Passage

Ideally, the next stages would be:

1-6 months : Working with the City of Houston to build out the project to be browser based (later as an app on Android and Apple). Testing conducted.
6 - 11 months: Actual city-wide use. The City of Houston would pro-actively send out potential flood alerts with a link to the map. Geotargeted SMS & push alerts that escalate only for affected zones may help avoid notification fatigue.
1 year - 2 years: Extend to the Greater-Houston Area Throughout: Real time water gauge sensor data, historical flood data, and user report data would be used in tandem by Houstonians, thus ensuring the most accurate and useful version of the project.

(Google Slides presentation link below.)